KEMETIC MINDS
Cybersecurity Scam Watch — Weekly Report — August 03, 2026
Photo: Gustavo Fring via Pexels (source)
- Scammers are impersonating the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center to target victims (FBI, 2026)
- The FTC is warning about a scam where criminals claim to work for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC, 2026)
- CISA has warned of a significant increase in attacks targeting internet-exposed programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in the water and wastewater systems sector (CISA, 2026)
- Scammers are using AI-generated videos of senior FBI officials to impersonate the FBI (Komando, 2026)
- CISA has urged critical infrastructure owners, operators, and integrators to remove publicly exposed PLCs and other OT from the internet as soon as possible (CISA, 2026)
- CISA has shared advice on isolating vital systems during cyberattacks (CISA, 2026)
1. This Week’s Top Scams
The FBI is warning about scammers impersonating its agents to rob victims a second time (FBI, 2026). These scammers are targeting Americans who have already lost money to a scam, and are using AI-generated videos of senior FBI officials to make their pitches sound more convincing (Komando, 2026). The FTC is also warning about a scam where criminals claim to work for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC, 2026).
Video: FTC warns of scams targeting taxpayers during filing season | NBCDFW. Source: NBC DFW.
2. Official Warnings & Advisories
CISA has warned of a significant increase in attacks targeting internet-exposed programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in the water and wastewater systems sector (CISA, 2026). The agency has urged critical infrastructure owners, operators, and integrators to remove publicly exposed PLCs and other OT from the internet as soon as possible (CISA, 2026). CISA has also shared advice on isolating vital systems during cyberattacks (CISA, 2026).
Video: Phishing Explained In 6 Minutes | What Is A Phishing Attack? | Phishing Attack | Simplilearn. Source: Simplilearn.
3. Data Breaches
There have been no reported data breaches in the sources provided.
Video: Consumer Alert: How to avoid getting scammed by fake online shopping sites. Source: WKYC Channel 3.
How to Protect Yourself
To protect yourself from these scams, follow these steps:
- Be cautious of phone calls or emails claiming to be from the FBI or FTC, and never give out personal or financial information to unknown individuals (FBI, 2026)
- Remove publicly exposed PLCs and other OT from the internet as soon as possible (CISA, 2026)
- Use a VPN connection or gateway devices for secure access to operational technology systems (CISA, 2026)
- Change default passwords and limit access to an IP address allow-list (CISA, 2026)
Kemetic Minds Analysis
The scams that spread fastest each week are rarely brand new — they’re small variations on the same playbook (urgency, spoofed authority, a link that looks almost right) recycled against whichever payment rail, app, or headline event is trending. Tracking the official warnings alongside the scams themselves is the fastest way to see which variant is live right now, not just which ones were common last year.
References
- Bing News. (2026, August 2). The FTC is warning about a scam quietly draining thousands from victims. msn.com
- Bing News. (2026, July 30). 11 phone scams the FTC and FBI are warning about now. msn.com
- Bing News. (2026, August 2). The FBI says scammers are now impersonating its own fraud-report site. msn.com
- Bing News. (2026, July 29). Scammers impersonate FBI’s IC3 website to target victims. msn.com
- Bing News. (2026, July 31). New FBI warning: Scammers revictimize internet crime victims. ktsm.com
- Bing News. (2026, July 27). The FBI warns that scammers are impersonating its agents to rob victims a second time. komando.com
- Bing News. (2026, July 31). CISA warns of cyberattacks disrupting U.S. water utilities. bleepingcomputer.com
- Bing News. (2026, July 30). CISA Urges Water Sector to Protect OT After Coordinated Attacks on PLCs. securityweek.com
- Bing News. (2026, July 31). CISA guidance targets water sector security, open source AI and more. federalnewsnetwork.com
- Bing News. (2026, July 28). CISA shares advice on isolating vital systems during cyberattacks. bleepingcomputer.com
Investigative Methodology: This roundup is generated on a fixed weekly schedule (Monday morning, America/Chicago) from live wire sources. Every claim is grounded in fetched source text with an APA7 in-text citation. Every video embed is verified to be a real, existing video via YouTube’s oEmbed endpoint before publication — none are written by the drafting model. The featured image is a real photograph sourced from Pexels, not an AI-generated image. No Wikipedia sources are used.
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